Evolutions Coinciding
by CNJ
Summary: The BSC's 45th year is marked by several important changes, both in their lives and in the world, including their childhood town. Completed!
1. April 2027

This takes place five years after Mary Anne and Stacey survive their terrible tragedies. Ben and Sierra are Dawn's twins, a son and a daughter. The usual disclaimer about the BSC characters and Mona, Shane Arrington, and Melanie Edwards belong to Betsy Haynes, not the current author.  
  
  
  
TAMARA:  
  
"Mary Anne?" Aunt Dawn called, dashing into the house and upstairs.  
  
"She's working on her book," I called. I got up from my map project and followed my aunt into Mom's room, part of which had been converted into a semi-office. Mom had written two other books, adult non-fiction and was now working on a fiction. It was adult, but some of it was about fourteen-year-olds. Mom's nose was almost buried in her computer and at first she didn't see her stepsister come in.  
  
"Hello..."  
  
"Oh!" Mom gave a soft squeal and jumped. "God...you scared me!" Mom and my eight-year-old sister Alma both startle easily.  
  
"Sorry," Aunt Dawn apologized. "I got the tickets for tonight's movie."  
  
"Thanks," Mom's dark eyes were a bit dreamy-looking. She took her glasses off and wiped them on a tissue. When she put them back on, her eyes were droopy.  
  
"Is that the book you told me about over the phone?" Aunt Dawn asked.  
  
Mom nodded. "It's based on my grandmother." My great-grandmother, I thought. She was ninety-seven years old and still living in her small farm in the Midwest. Mom worried about her for a long time, but I think to calm Mom down, Verna took in two other women to help her on the farm. I'm almost named after her, my name being Tamara Verna. Alma was Mom's mother's name, so my eight-year-old sister is Alma Dawn. My sister and I have dark hair and eyes like our mother, but in facial features, Alma looks exactly like Mom while I look like our late father. Dad and Mom were in a plane crash when Alma was five and I was nine. I have a vivid memory of him and Mom coming home from their teaching jobs five days a week often arm-in-arm, sometimes laughing, other times serious. Alma has a sketchy memory of our dad, while Mom and I still miss him often.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
SIERRA:  
  
We were visiting Aunt Mary Anne and her two daughters for the spring break of 2027. My twin brother, Ben and I raced upstairs with Alma and Tamara to play Uno while our aunt and mother stayed downstairs to talk. Arizona had been dry and warm for the spring already with red dust blowing all over, while here in New York, it was still chilly. Tamara and Alma are both a little quiet, but Alma, who looks like her aunt, is very shy. We're ten while Alma's eight and Tamara is thirteen.  
  
"So..." I asked. "Was middle school hard?"  
  
"Mom says it's easy, but her school was CROWDED," Ben put in. "She went to Vista in California," he added as if we all didn't know.  
  
"A mix," Tamara told us. "None of my classes are too hard, but that first week of getting to used to all the new kids and teachers is hard."  
  
"We're starting middle school in two years," I told my cousins. That's where Mom met Aunt Mary Anne. See, Mary Anne and Mom are stepsisters, not blood sisters. Both of their parents were single and met up and got married, so making them stepsisters way back when they were in middle school way back almost before Internet and before the turn of the millennium. Back in the wild, turbulent, idealistic 1990's. Can you believe that the here in the States, we were almost the last industrialized country to have a female president? Almost all of Europe beat us to that one. Mom tells us that back then, there was a widespread culturecentrism, an arrogance of Europeans and Americans believing that our culture was superior to all others. Boy, were people uncivilized in those days!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
DAWN:  
  
"So, what do you think of Stoneybrook becoming a city?" I asked Mary Anne on the way to the movie later on that night after we ate.  
  
"It's about time," my stepsister made a turn toward the lower Manhattan. "It's gotten more and more crowded and the town hall really isn't adequate enough to keep track of so many people. It served its purpose when Stoneybrook was still a large town, but I think Stoneybrook's reached another stage in development."  
  
"I hope it gets voted in as a city too," Dawn nodded. If it does, which it will be voted on in next fall's election, then finalized by the Connecticut state legislature, there'll be a huge get-together there. Why is a large town in Connecticut so important to us even though I live in Arizona and Mary Anne lives in New York, just a few miles outside of New York City? We grew up there, my stepsister, my other friends and me. There were about ten of us and back when we were in middle and high school, we baby-sat and had a club around it, the Baby-Sitters' Club. We ran it like a small business and parents in Stoneybrook could call us there. But time flew and we graduated from high school and went off to college and started our careers and all. Once we graduated, our former charges took over the club, then when THEY graduated, their former charges took over and each one was the next generation of the Baby-Sitters' Club or BSC for short. It's now a legend in Stoneybrook, now in its fifteenth generation and has formed several branches, even one now in Stamford.  
  
"There's also the option that Stoneybrook could become a suburb of Stamford," Mary Anne put in.  
  
"True." I nodded.  
  
"I'd kind of like it to become its own city," Mary Anne told me. "I e-mailed Kristy and the others last night and they agree." Kristy Thomas and Claudia Kishner, two of our other friends, live in Minnesota and are businesswomen. Stacey McGill lives in Vermont and is an engineer. Kristy's divorced with five kids and is seeing a Shane Arrington, who's also divorced and has two daughters. Kristy and Shane dated way back in college, but after graduation drifted apart, but are now re-united. They're getting married this summer. Claudia is married with three daughters while Stacey is divorced with one daughter. Mona Vaughn, who was visiting her mom in Stoneybrook for spring break, is a veterinarian and has a daughter Alma's age, Zara. We have a few others, Abby and Anna Stevenson, who both live in New Jersey and Jessi and Mallory, who are two years younger than the rest of us.  
  
"Me too." I agreed. "Kind of like Puerto Rico."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Puerto Rico is moving toward independence from the United States," I told her.  
  
"That's right, I've been reading about it in the paper," Mary Anne scanned the parking lot for a space. "It looks like they might make it too after being dependent on the States. I remember there were a lot of Puerto Rican Americans back at Staten U. and since there are so many Puerto Rican Americans here in the city, most of them had thought about it. A lot of them had relatives there, but they themselves were born here. There were even a few people that wanted it to become a fifty-first state for a while."  
  
"Kind of like the Philippines way back before we were around," I added. I remembered reading about how the Philippines also was dependent on the States, then broke away.  
  
"So, you think they'll declare their independence like the Philippines and India?" Tamara asked.  
  
"It looks like it, honey," Mary Anne found a space and edged her car in.  
  
"So many changes, so little time," Sierra quipped and we all laughed, then headed into the theater. 


	2. May 2027

STACEY:  
  
I had my newest experiment ready to send online. I had the laptop hooked up to the image-mailer and was ready to go that sunny Saturday in May of 2027. If this worked, it could change the voltage direction of electricity. I'd been doing a lot of experimenting with different substances. My main career is an engineer, but this is sort of my side career. I got the signal and hit the "send" button on my laptop, which was cradled in my lap as I slouched on the floor of my bedroom beside the generator. *Mail Received!* flashed up on the screen. *Yyyes!* I mouthed. I heard the *brrrip* of the phone in the hall, but let my nine-year-old daughter Syrie get it.  
  
"Mom..." A second later, she was heading into my room. "It's Kristy...should I tell her you're busy or can you pick up?"  
  
"It's all right, I can pick up, dear," I stood up, put my laptop on my desk and took the phone.  
  
"Hard at work on this spring Saturday already!" Kristy crowed. "Suspected that!" We both laughed as I sat on the bed.  
  
"You guessed it," I told her a little about the latest experiment I'm working on. "So...how're the wedding plans coming along?" I asked. Kristy, who lives in Two Skies, Minnesota is getting married to a Shane Arrington in July. It'll be a second for both of them, since they'd been through the married route before. So have I. I was married to a Jon Metrick and had a son, Larry. But sadly, four years ago, Larry died in an accident in the lake behind my house. He fell through ice and drowned. Jon and I by that time were having marital troubles and Larry's death blew apart the remains of our marriage. Thank the stars Jon and I aren't bitter towards each other. We both live close by here in Vermont. And I'm grateful I have Syrie.  
  
"...and I have the traditional snail mail invitations on my desk, so I'll get them mailed out this week, I promise," Kristy put in. She'd already sent all of us in the original BSC invitations by e-mail.  
  
"Hey, that's great," I put on my glasses and looked over the news of the day on my laptop as I listened to Kristy rattle on more details of the wedding and of how Claudia, one of our other BSC friends was doing. Claudia also lives in Two Skies, right in Kristy's neighborhood. They're both businesswomen...Kristy's the CEO of KAT Furniture and Appliances while Claudia owns an advertising firm.  
  
"Hey, Tamara's supposed to graduate from eighth grade this month, right?" Kristy asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's right," I nodded. "Hard to believe some of our kids are teenagers. Mary Anne says it brings back memories of when we were that age." We both chuckled. "Speaking of teenagers and independence and all...what do you think of Puerto Rico wanting independence from the States?" I'd just seen the latest news clip of Puerto Ricans gathering in San Juan for a conference on drafting a formal declaration of independence from the United States.  
  
"Hey, they should go for it," Kristy said and I could just picture her raising her fist into the air. "And speaking of which...you think Stoneybrook's going to be its own city soon?"  
  
"I hope so." I flipped off my laptop. "I guess it'll be up to the people in the old town next fall."  
  
"Including some of our parents and old neighbors," Kristy put in. We talked more, then eventually hung up. We grew up there, so we affectionately refer to Stoneybrook, Connecticut as the "old town." My mom still lives there as well as Dawn's mom, Claudia's parents, Abby and Anna Stevenson's mom and some of our old baby-sitting clients from our teen years. In addition, the fifteenth generation of the BSC is in full swing there. The Baby-Sitters Club, or BSC started out a long time ago, way back when we were in seventh grade in the 1990's with just four of us. Then it grew to seven, then by the time we were in eleventh grade, we had ten members. By the time we got to be seniors in high school, we wanted the BSC to continue, but knew we'd be leaving Stoneybrook for college. So, Kristy, who's full of great ideas, decided to train our former BSC charges, who were then middle-school age, to take over the club after we graduated. It worked and over the years, as the then large town of Stoneybrook grew, more branches of the BSC formed around there. Now, Stoneybrook has grown so large that it is being considered for cityhood. The Stoneybrook voters would decide that in November. That was six months away, but it seemed longer.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
KRISTY:  
  
"Sooo, Mom, are Lauren and Jennifer coming tonight?" my youngest, Elizabeth asked me as she pulled out forks to put on the table.  
  
"They sure are," I told her. "In fact, Shane is bringing them for dinner, so go ahead and put out three extra places for them."  
  
"Good." She grinned, her brown eyes lighting up as she pulled out more silverware as I slid the burner toward the back of the stove and put the automatic shut-off on an hour. Jennifer and Lauren are Shane's twin daughters and are almost eighteen, the same age as my second-to-oldest, Karen. Hard to believe in the fall, Karen will be ready for college and my oldest, David, will be twenty next year. He was here for the weekend and was here for dinner as well. Two more years and he'll graduate from Hoboken U. Karen's headed to Hartford U. in Connecticut in the fall, which is about two hours from the old town, Stoneybrook. Yep, our old town where my friends in the original BSC grew up. It was all so long ago, back in the twentieth century. I'd gone to college in New York City along with two of my friends, Mona and Mary Anne. That was also where I met Shane Arrington at first. At that time, it was when the Taliban War was raging in the Middle East and we were mapping out our careers. Shane and I had hit it off, then by our second year at Fellowdean, where Shane and I had been students, we were going steady and having sex. Mary Anne and Mona along with two of their current neighbors, Greta and Wiser, had gone to Staten U. We'd often gone out together and in NYC, there's always so much to do and see. But when we all graduated from college, Shane got a job offer in Illinois as a lab technician while I stayed in New York and did internet programming while I started my business, KAT furniture and appliances. Our relationship had lapsed slowly. I smiled as I remembered how back then, there were few appliances made for left-handers like Mary Anne, Shane, and me. The business took off and by the time I was twenty-two, it had expanded and that year, I moved out here to Two Skies, Minnesota. A year later, I'd met Carl Bineware and a year after that, we'd married and I'd had my five kids...David, Karen, Micheal, Michelle, then Liz. Carl and I had been happy when the kids were small, but gradually, we'd drifted apart and split up. Thank the stars it wasn't a bitter divorce and we were mostly cordial. The kids see their dad regularly. Then last year, I ran into Shane again at a sports fair. It turned out he was divorced also and is a veterinarian like Mona. He and I talked and we got to know one another again. I found out he lives in Two Skies, Minnesota and that he had twin daughters. We started going out and I met his daughters and even his ex-wife, Claire a couple of times. She's an architect. She and her daughters are nice. Shane and Claire now share custody of Lauren and Jenny.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MICHELLE:  
  
"...so everyone cracked up when Beri told the class that the Taliban soldiers had their tents stolen and that was why they went on that rampage and ended up losing the war," I told everyone at dinner that night. We've been studying the Taliban War in modern U.S. history these past few weeks. If you call the early 2000's modern. But then again, most of our parents had lived through that, so it probably was.  
  
"Dad, you remember that war, right?" Lauren asked Shane.  
  
"Yes, I do," Shane and Mom looked across the table at each other. Their college years, I thought.  
  
"Is that true that some soldiers were so shocked that they fainted when they saw what was going on in the purging homes?" I asked.  
  
"It was," Mom told me. "We knew that women were being persecuted there, but none of us really knew the extent or how far it had gone." I'd read about the Mysoginocide in history. Women were accused on trumped-up charges of false things and were taken to these houses without windows and one locked door and beaten, sometimes starved, sometimes raped, and often had body parts mutilated. It had been really awful for women in Afghanistan of the late 1990's to 2000's. It was too bad that it took a war to free them which started in the fall of 2001 and lasted a few years, but thank the stars Afghanistan is a free country now. It's odd to think that that happened in my mom's lifetime, some of these backward, awful things happened. 


	3. July 2027

The usual disclaimers...Shane and Liza are characters of Betsy Haynes, not the current author. And on Liza...Fab Five fans may have guessed, but Liza used to be Beth Barry back in middle school, but in my stories, I have her change her name to Liza midway through high school.  
  
  
  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
"I still hate dressing up," Kristy muttered as she looked over her wedding dress. Mona, Stacey, Abby, Anna, Claudia, Dawn, and I all chuckled. Kristy grinned, then added, "Oookay, here goes..." and pulled the simple green dress over her head and on.  
  
"You look great!" Claudia chimed in.  
  
"It becomes you," Stacey added.  
  
"Thanks," Kristy self-consciously fingered the long skirt. Still the same Kristy, I thought in amusement. Kristy's always hated dressing up and still to this day prefers sweats and baggy jeans, the rattier-looking, the better. It's hard to believe she's getting married again! I really do hope things work out for this marriage. It looks like it will because Shane and Kristy have a lot in common and are both liberal and open-minded. I'd met Shane's mom Sylvia earlier today and she's nice. Shane looks a lot like her. Since college, Shane hasn't changed too much. I was glad all of us in the original BSC were able to fly over to Two Skies to attend the wedding. It wasn't a big wedding; it was nice and simple. It was also an outdoor wedding, kind of like what I had with my late husband, Owen. I hoped Tam and Alma were getting ready in their room here at the Inn. This Inn we're staying in is rustic, has a "farmhouse" appearance and enough rooms to accommodate all of us...the original BSC, some of our non-BSC friends including Liza Barry, Greta, and Wyser along with others...those of us who have lovers or husbands, they were here as well as our kids. It was about fifty people. We'd have the reception in the main big lodge.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I usually wind up bawling at weddings and this one was no exception, especially since it brought back memories of the outdoor wedding I'd had with Owen. Claudia grinned and I wiped my eyes and pulled tissues out. Tam also started to cry and I handed her some tissues. Alma's eyes welled up and she looked down. As Shane and Kristy said their vows in front of the judge, I covered my mouth and tried not to blubber. Tam kept the tissue over her nose and when everyone applauded, she took advantage of the noise to blow her nose with a *baaap!* I started to smile through my tears, but discovered *my* nose was started to run too, so I had to grab more tissues and blow also. By then, the applause had quieted and I could hear my own honking as Kristy and Shane headed back up the aisle grinning, waving and arm-in-arm. Married again, I thought. I knew they'd make a good couple.  
  
"I think they're going to have a great time together," Claudia's oldest daughter, Mimi told us as we got up to get ready for the reception.  
  
"They seem..." Tam's voice broke and she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes again.  
  
"Very...compatible." I nodded and wiped my own eyes.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
KRISTY:  
  
God. Shane and I are *married.* Hard to believe. I was glad we'd ordered plenty of food, buffet-style because most of us were famished. We did the toasting thing and as I said mine, thanking each and every one of the original BSC friends for standing by me through the years and being like sisters to me, Mary Anne started to cry again. As I sat, Mary Anne stood up and made a toast, even though she was crying. She said something to the effect of how fortunate she felt to have all of us in her life and wished Shane and me all the happiness of several lifetimes. "...you've earned...it, K-Kris...may the stars...bl-bless you..." she blubbered before sitting. By then, Stacey had started crying too and both she and Mary Anne fumbled for tissues. That's when we continued eating. In about a minute, everyone was laughing, talking and eating, including Mary Anne and Stacey. Looking around, I felt very lucky to have all of them in my life as well. And I had to feeling there were many more years to come of the turns and changes in our lives. 


	4. September 2027

MARY ANNE:  
  
"...I should apply anyway," I told Dawn over my cell phone as I drove home from work on a crisp, but still mild September day. As usual, the traffic was freaky, especially since it was Friday evening in the Big Apple.  
  
"I think you'd make a swell principal," Dawn told me. "You're good with kids, especially teenagers and you've done a lot already to improve the New York school system."  
  
"Thanks," I blush. I always blush when I'm complemented.  
  
"How's the book coming?" Dawn asked. I'm writing a book which I hope to have finished by next year. I've published two other books, but they were non-fiction.  
  
"Getting there," I edged my car off the main city highway and turned toward the sign pointing to Hudson Ridge just outside of New York. Once I managed to clear the ramp, traffic lightened up considerably and the tall buildings and skyscrapers gave way to houses and apartments intermingling with shopping centers and malls. As my stepsister and I talked more, I silently marveled over how New York City's grown even BIGGER since I first came here as a college student. Once we'd hung up and I got home, I thought over how it was the eighteen-year anniversary of the World Trade Center disaster a few days ago. The first World Trade Center had been a huge steel and glass skyscraper then. Most buildings today are made of stronger, more durable brick or iron. Back then, terrorism was rampant and Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban and it was the Mysoginocide era. Close to one million women had perished over there. Meanwhile, in September 2001, over three thousand people in the first WTC had died when two hijacked planes crashed into the buildings, which had been two skyscrapers. My friends and I had been college freshmen then and it had been scary, especially since Kristy, Mona, and I had been in NYC for college. I'm so glad my kids are living now instead of back then during that war and the Mysoginocide. The current WTC is one tall building of brick and iron and is just one tower. Near it is a huge memorial and museum as well as a wing on the Mysoginocide.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was close to midnight before I got up to stretch and close down my computer for the night. Alma had gone to bed and Tamara was reading and listening to the radio. As I passed her room, I could hear Bonfire's soft rock pulse around her room. I was brushing my teeth when I heard a soft creak downstairs. I froze a minute. Hearing nothing more, I finished brushing my teeth and rinsed my mouth out. I'd just gotten in bed with a book when I heard the creak again, this time with a soft scraping sound. Closing the book, I quietly headed downstairs. Thank the stars it didn't sound like anyone breaking in. I walked around the dark downstairs a minute. Once back in the living room, I flipped on the light and to my reassurance, nothing was out of place; nothing looked strange. Our cat, Sunset, was lying beneath the coffee table, batting a toy around and when she bit it in a certain way, it creaked. Her claws occasionally scraped the coffee table. *Oh* I mouthed.  
  
"Oh, hello, Sunset..." I said softly. Sunset peered up at me, then went on playing with her toy. I swallowed, whether from relief or anxiety, I didn't know. "Goodnight, pookie-kins..." I whispered after a minute, then headed back upstairs.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
STACEY:  
  
I wound up visiting the old town that September and staying at Mom's house along with Syrie. As I drove down toward my mom's house, I looked around, mentally comparing the old town now to how it looked years ago when my friends and I were growing up here. It certainly does have the feel of a small city with more traffic, houses and apartments clustered closer together, shorter blocks, and more crowds, not to mention the ever expanding financial district. The area that had been once been the only downtown area had grown and now resembled Wall Street and mid-city Stamford combined. Over dinner that Saturday night, I updated Mom on the latest development in my experiment.  
  
"Just think, maybe we won't need wires and poles to get electricity moving anymore if your experiment works," Mom smiled as she sipped her tea.  
  
"Yeah, hard to imagine."  
  
"Guess who I ran into last time I was in Stamford?" Mom asked.  
  
"No...who?"  
  
"Leah Silverbein."  
  
"No kidding!" I nearly fell out of my chair. Ms. Silverbein was the principal of our old high school, Stoneybrook High. She's long retired and eighty-two now. "How is she?"  
  
"She's getting along in years and has diabetes, but is doing all right." Mom told me. "She now has seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter."  
  
"Oh, my goodness," I sipped my tea. "I wonder if she's been in touch with SHS."  
  
"She has been. She still gets their newsletter and is keeping tabs on the conversion of Stoneybrook. I think this town will turn into a city in November and so does she."  
  
"I wonder if I'll see her again," I mused.  
  
"She still lives in Stamford," Mom held her cup a minute. "She says whatever the change, she'll be back in Stoneybrook for the cutting of the ribbon ceremony. I have her address on file if you want it."  
  
"Great, thanks." As I headed upstairs to the guest bedroom later that night, I thought about Ms. Silverbein. She'd stood by us back in high school when the BSC launched Operation Today's Good Youth by mailing letters to the editors of the northeastern newspapers protesting the negative image the media had then of our generation. Back then, there were still a lot of unenlightened people and some of them had given Ms. Silverbein a hard time over the letters, thinking that kids should be "seen, not heard." Ms. Silverbein had stood firm and behind us one hundred percent, which had helped wrest Stoneybrook High from under the domination of a powerful clique that had terrorized the school then. She and I have something in common now, I thought, laying my insulin patch on the dresser for tomorrow. I have diabetes too, but mine's type one while Ms. Silverbein probably has type two. I wondered if she now needed to wear an insulin patch for ten minutes each day like me. Thank the stars the days when diabetics had to prick themselves with a needle to get their insulin and severely limit their sugar intake are gone. Syrie and I ended up brushing our teeth together.  
  
"It's good seeing Grandma again," she told me as I sat and peed.  
  
"It is," I nodded.  
  
"Are we going to come here for Thanksgiving or the holidays?" Syrie put her toothbrush away.  
  
"Most likely for Thanksgiving," I told her. "Some of the BSC are coming too."  
  
"G'night, Mom..." Syrie gave me a little hug and I gave her a good night kiss, dropping a wad of toilet paper.  
  
"Goodnight, love," I said softly and she headed to bed. A few minutes later, I headed to bed myself and curled up with a good book. About a half hour later, Mom came by to say goodnight.  
  
"That's blanket's warm enough?" she asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Well, goodnight, dear."  
  
"Night, Mom." Still my doting mom, I thought. It touched me too. That was one thing that would stay the same in this ever changing world. Drifting off to sleep, I found myself dreaming that Stoneybrook had become as large as New York.  
  
  
More later! 


	5. November 2027

KRISTY:  
  
"Stoneybrook is now officially a small city!" Mom told me over the phone that cool November evening as I drove home from work.  
  
"YAAA! FANTASTIC!" I bellowed. "Wait until I tell the others!" It was election day, but not a presidential or a congressional election since it was an odd-numbered year. Once I clicked my phone closed, I re-opened it and dialed the others in the original BSC with the news.  
  
"Sharon called and told me the good news!" Mary Anne crowed.  
  
"Move over, Newark and Stamford!" Abby whooped when she got the news. Wow, I thought as I entered my neighborhood and drove up toward my house. The old town has evolved into a small city. I guess we should start calling it the old city now. Michelle and Liz were home when I got in and their friends, Mary Anne Kishner and Linda Barry were with them and all of them were engaged in a game of Pictionary. Mary Anne Kishner is Claudia's middle daughter and we call her Annie so we don't mix her up with Mary Anne Spiser. Linda is Liza Barry's daughter.  
  
"Hiii, Mom!" Michelle called.  
  
"Did you hear that Puerto Rico is picking out its first congress people?" Liz chimed in.  
  
"Wow, I haven't..." I came into the family room. I knew Puerto Rico had been fighting for its independence from the States for a while now. "Hey, I have news also...Stoneybrook is now small city." I gave the four of them a small hug, then sat on the floor near them and pulled off my shoes. It's so good that business shoes are much more comfortable than they used to be. I'd never be caught dead in the high heels they used to sell.  
  
"Wow..." "Hey, cool..."  
  
"Shane called a few minutes ago," Michelle told me. "He should be home in about a half hour."  
  
"Good, then how about we eat when he gets home."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
"Happy Birthday, Tam!" I crowed. Tam shuffled sleepily into the kitchen at ten-thirty on Sunday morning.  
  
"Thnnnks..." she mumbled, leaning into me. I stroked her hair. She likes to sleep late on weekends like me.  
  
"Happy birthday!" Alma chimed in. Tam gave her, then me a hug.  
  
"Still feel like taking in the city today?" I asked. Tam nodded and rubbed her eyes, slowly coming awake. For the first hour or so when she gets up, she's usually half-asleep, walking around with half-closed eyes and slowly. Then the rest of the day she's awake and fine. Today we were going downtown and probably to the Statue of Liberty. We all love Ms. Liberty, especially since my great-great grandmother emigrated through there from Germany in the late 1890's.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TAMARA:  
  
We've been to the Statue of Liberty a number of times, but we never tire of visiting her. I love how she stands holding her torch and looking out toward Europe with such a serious expression, yet a warm look in her eyes. On the way, we passed the memorial of the first World Trade Center. It's a serious, quiet place and really beautiful. There are memorial trees and an eternal flame that former president Al Gore lit. I watched the flame ebb and flow with the chilly fall winds. Ellis Island was where we went first. It's always exciting to see Syraria Wegenstein's name on the wall with all the twenty million immigrants that came to the States and mostly made this country what it is today.  
  
"Almost half of all Americans have ancestors that came through here," Mom told us as we admired the wall.  
  
"Just imagine how scary it must have been for all of them coming into a strange country and not speak the language," Alma said softly.  
  
"Yes, I'd have been frightened too," Mom whispered.  
  
"Hey, here's our great-great grandpa too," I pointed. "Karl Bakersberg."  
  
"That's where the name Baker comes from," Mom told us, referring to our great-grandma Verna Baker. She put an arm around each of us and peered closely at the names. All around us, other visitors flashed pictures and ran video cameras. We'd taken pictures of our own a long time ago. "And our other ancestors, the Spiers." It's mostly last names and there are a lot of Spiers there. Several, including ours, had seven members in their families. Our great-great aunts and uncles, I thought.  
  
"And Dad's greats near the left," I pointed to the name Geiser.  
  
"We're very lucky," I told Mom and Alma once we were back in the Liberty Ferry to the Statue. "All of our ancestors made it through Ellis Island. It makes me wonder where we'd be if they hadn't passed the inspection and made it across."  
  
"It's scary to think about, especially since the Holocaust was less than fifty years later," Mom's eyes widened.  
  
"Hiii, Ms. Libertyyyy!" Someone called. Some people laughed, including us. Ms. Liberty is very human-looking, so it's easy to personify her like a live being. It used to be that the only way you could get to the top of the crown was by over a hundred steps, but now they have a pulleyed elevator. We waited in line, but it wasn't a long one today, since only a few people can go up at a time. It's soo neat that you can see the inside of her skirt and all. It's amazing how they're able to keep it up. They've had to replace a few parts, but it's still very stable for a statue almost a hundred and fifty years old. By then time we got to the crown and back on the ferry, it was growing dark. As we sailed back to the mainland city, the statue lit for the night. The sight is always breathtaking. Mona and her daughter, Zara as well as my friend, Rhoda were going to meet us at That's Amore for dinner, then we'd head back home where I suspect Mom has a cake hidden somewhere. Happy fourteenth birthday, I told myself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
STACEY:  
  
It's so great that Stoneybrook is now a CITY! Several of us original BSC members were going back to the old town...city for Thanksgiving. It seemed as if Stoneybrook had GROWN since the vote. I'd been in touch with Ms. Silverbein. She'd be having her kids and grandkids over for the holiday, both Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. I'd be seeing Mom, while Mary Anne and Dawn were spending their Thanksgiving at Sharon's place. Kristy was also spending the holiday with her mom as well.  
  
"Hi, Mom!" I called.  
  
"Hiii, Grandma!" Syrie called and we all booked into each others' arms and hugged.  
  
"Looks like we're back in the old city now," I quipped and Mom and Syrie laughed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That Friday after Thanksgiving, Dawn, Mary Anne, Kristy, and me got together in Mom's living room and caught up. Our kids alternated between Virtual Reality and Uno in the game room. I told them about Ms. Silverbein and how she was.  
  
"By the spring, I should also hear about how my experiment worked out and whether my invention's patented," I finished.  
  
"Well, good luck at it," Dawn commented.  
  
"I'm about halfway through my book," Mary Anne added. "As well as made it through another first marking period with my students."  
  
"KAT just bought another line of appliances this week," Kristy put in. "And the stocks on three of the brands of can-openers are soaring."  
  
"Speaking of can-openers," Dawn put in. "What's the game plan for the winter holidays?" We've made tentative plans to have a big holiday get-together at Mary Anne's house this year in NewYork City.  
  
"We all meet at my place as soon as we get the break from our work?" Mary Anne put in.  
  
"Who wants to bring what?" Dawn asked. For the next few minutes, we planned and ironed out who would bring what dish. Mary Anne said she'd ee and call the others and work out details with them. Mary Anne said she'd take care of the chicken, which she could get pre-cooked roasted at Safeway. Thank the stars for pre-cooked food. I thought back how in the old days, it took HOURS to get a holiday meal together. Now with ultra-microwaves and microstoves as well as pre-cooked freeze-dried foods, cooking a whole meal maybe takes half hour at the most. Minor meals are a matter of minutes.  
  
"Let's hear it for Hanukkah and Christmas!" Kristy crowed and we all clinked glasses and cups, laughing. 


	6. December 2027

Quick disclaimer: Liza Barry is the creation of Betsy Haynes, not the current author. Linda is Liza's daughter and IS this author's creation. Also Harry Potter, who is strictly R.K. Rowling's creation, makes a surprise appearance here as well. Enjoy!  
  
  
MICHELLE:  
  
Annie and I watched Linda and two of her other bandmates rehearse for the upcoming holiday production. Linda can play any musical instrument she can get her hands on. Right now, she's playing the violin for her part in the production. Annie and I had just gotten out of a yearbook meeting. Once her band was done, we clapped and whooped from the back. Linda saw us, waved and bowed. Linda's a freshman like us here at Huron High. Once rehearsal was over, Linda met us by the auditorium door and we started home.   
  
"Heyyy, it's starting to snow!" I crowed. It sure was. Being early December, it wasn't surprising. Sometimes we get snow as early as mid-November here in Two Skies, Minnesota. There was a powdering on the ground and if it kept up, we'd have the ground covered within an hour.  
  
"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" Linda sang. Laughing, we skidded and kicked up snow all the way home. Linda and Annie came to my house and we had cocoa and oreos. No one else was home, so we had the house to ourselves for a while. Neither Mom or Shane would be home until around six. Sometimes, they come in together, other times, it's separately if one of them is working late.   
  
"Your stepdad's a vet, right?" Linda asked.  
  
"Yep," I nodded. Hard to believe the holidays were three weeks away. We talked some about what our families planned for the holidays.  
  
"We're heading to Aunt Brittany's in Rhode Island," Linda told us. "Our cousin Marla's going to be there." Brittany is Liza Barry's older sister and she has a grown daughter, Marla.   
  
"Annie and I are going to Aunt Mary Anne's in New York," I told her. It was going to be all of Mom and Claudia's friends from the original first Baby-Sitters Club getting together in New York City. Sometimes, I think the Spisers and the Vaughns are lucky living in the Big Apple. Tamara is my age and Alma and Mona's daughter, Zara are eight. I think it's going to be a fun holiday. Once in a while we do this...on a holiday or special occasion, all of them and us kids get together for a huge re-union. Linda's mom sometimes has a re-union with her four other friends and their kids who live in different parts of the country too.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TAMARA:  
  
I was the first one home that afternoon in early December. It was cold and drizzly out and I wondered if we'd get snow for the holidays this year. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. I smiled softly as I started my homework. It had been a productive day and this afternoon's rehearsal for our school's play went well. I figured Alma was at Zara's for the afternoon. Later, after I'd finished my homework, I checked my e-mail. Nothing new, except an ee from my friend Rhoda, so I ee'ed back and told her a little about the huge re-union bash we were having here for the holidays. Christmas was three weeks away and Hanukkah was two and a half weeks off. I'd started my holiday shopping and I know Mom's already almost finished hers. I then logged out and headed downstairs and put a few rice mixes into the microwave and set the table since it was four-thirty and Mom would be home at around five. Sure enough, half an hour later she came home. Mona was with her and they were talking in low voices. I was back upstairs by this time. I guess Mom invited Mona in because they headed to the kitchen. I heard Mom cough as she got out cups for them and I guess made tea. A while later, Mona started home and I heard Mom coughing even more. Cold and flu season, I thought. A few kids in my class were out with that and I hoped Mom wasn't coming down with a cold. I think Mona did too because I heard her ask Mom if she was all right when Mom started to cough again.  
  
"I think I'm getting a cold," Mom told her. "My throat feels a bit gritty, but I'll be all right, don't worry."  
  
"Take it easy and rest," Mona told Mom as she left. Once the door closed, Mom was attacked by another coughing spell. She really didn't sound very good, I realized.  
  
"Hii, Mom," I called as Mom came up.  
  
"Hello, dear," she called. She headed to the bathroom and blew her nose. "Thanks for starting dinner, sweetie. Want to eat when your sister gets in?"  
  
"Sure..." I nodded. Alma came in a few minutes later.  
  
"Hii, Tam," she called. She headed to her room, then came back and headed to mine. "Hey, Tam...think Mom would mind if I used Hair-Foll on my lip?" It's the latest craze in today's world to use this new hair growth stimulus to grow hair on the face, especially the lips and chin. Some people object to it, saying what about possible side effects and all. It's funny because years ago, it was the fad here in the States to REMOVE all facial hair, especially for girls and women.  
  
"I'm not sure," I told her. Mom is liberal about almost everything, but about Hair-Foll, she might worry about side effects too.  
  
"Well, I guess I can ask her."  
  
"Hey, Alma, better wait on that because I think Mom is getting a cold."  
  
"Oh, God," Alma plumped down in the bed. "Is she going to be okay?" We heard more coughing from downstairs just then, a rather dry *Hhhikhhiiiikhiiik* sound.  
  
"I'm sure she will," I told her. Mom is rarely sick and if she ever is, she recovers quickly. Come to think of it, my sister and I don't get sick too often either. I remembered Mom telling us that all of us are lucky to have the Spiser constitution, which means we're very healthy and come from a strong, durable stock. "So just hold off a week or two until she's better. Let's head down to eat." We did.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
In a way, it was good that it was the weekend because by that night, I had a cold and quite a cough. My girls peered at me in worry, but I reassured them I'd be all right. I haven't been sick in a long, long time. As I tried to sleep that night, I smiled ruefully as I thought of the fact that we often don't think about what we have until we lose it. Well, tonight I sure didn't have a clear nose or throat. I blew my nose, but the congestion got worse. The grittiness in my throat worsened to a sensation that mucus was clogging my throat and causing painful spasms that made me cough. I took cough syrup and lay on my stomach, which helped some. I slept on and off and by the morning, I still felt drowsy. The drizzle had stopped and the sun had come out, but I could see that it was cold out there. I was hoping to get some holiday shopping done and maybe finish this weekend, but I found it hard to even sit up. I tried to sigh, but was ambushed with another long coughing spell. Covering my mouth, I doubled over and just willed this spell to end soon. It did, but it left me feeling weak and my throat sore and raw. I rubbed my eyes, which were feeling tender and dry and blew my nose and tried to gather the strength to sit up again. Was I even going to be able to get up today? I wondered fearfully, fighting back another wave of coughing.  
  
"Mom, are you all right?" Tam came in. Her eyes widened in alarm. "Oh, God, you're sick..." she came over and pulled the covers over me.  
  
"I guess..." I tried to smile at her.  
  
"Stay in bed and I'll call Mona," she told me. "I made breakfast for us, are you hungry?" I shook my head and let myself fall back into my pillows. "I'll look out for Alma, make sure she's all right. I'll see if Mona can bring you more cough syrup. I have a feeling you're going to need it this weekend."  
  
"Thanks..." I whispered weakly. I turned my head away as I went into another coughing spell.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I guess Tam did call Mona because she came over a little later. By then, I was in a dazed half-sleep. The weekend passed in a blur. Mona and the girls checked on me periodically. I myself drifted between sleep and waking up and being seized by the awful coughing spells. I ate only a few spoonfuls of chicken noodle soup on Saturday night and drank a little apple juice on Sunday, but I couldn't taste any of it since my nose was clogged. I was glad to slide back into sleep and not be so miserable. It was Mona who had someone sub for me at work that Monday and Tuesday. By Monday, I was starting to clear up some, but still had the dreadful cough. I managed to eat a little more on Monday night and Mona and the girls, including Zara sat in my room and we all ate dinner together.  
  
"About ten kids at school are sick," Alma told us.  
  
"There's a few kids and a couple of teachers out too," Tam added, spearing a meatball with her fork.  
  
"I think it's the same thing at your school," Mona told me. "When I called there, Alexa mentioned something about another teacher calling in sick and several students being out." I nodded, not surprised. Slowly, I was beginning to regain my taste, but still didn't have much of an appetite.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MONA:   
Mary Anne was better Tuesday and went back to work Wednesday. Her nose wasn't so stopped up, but she still had a bit of a cough and her voice was a bit huskier than usual. My vet's office was close to home, so fortunately, I'd been able to stop at Mary Anne's place during the past two days. I myself was getting ready for the holidays. I along with my staff decorated the veterinary clinic with bright decorations and set up a menorah by the front window. On Thursday, late that afternoon, Mary Anne stopped by. She'd been taking it easier at work this week, leaving by four instead of the usual five. She'd been weakened by this illness and still had a cough, but bit by bit, was regaining her usual endurance. I invited her in my office for tea and we talked a while.  
  
"Thanks for coming by when I was sick," she told me, sipping her tea.  
  
"You're welcome," I stirred my tea and added a bit more nutra-sweet. "As the old saying goes, that's what friends are for." We gazed outside, sipping our tea. It was cold and gray and looked like it might snow. Maybe we'd have snow for the holidays this year. New York City is very iffy with snow at Christmas and Hanukkah.  
  
"It feels good to be able to taste things again," Mary Anne took a long sip. "I'm slowly beginning to breathe normally again."  
  
"How does your throat feel?" I asked. Her voice still sound a little different than before.  
  
"Better." She coughed twice. "I still cough as you can see, but my throat's not so sore now." It was good to see her up and around again. I smiled softly as I remembered how back in college, when we were freshman, she'd had a really bad cold and I'd nursed her through it. She'd also been there for me when I'd had a stomach virus two years ago and helped take care of Zara.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
CLAUDIA:  
  
...so we'll meet you at your place on the eighteenth?" I asked Mary Anne over my cell as I wedged my way through a thick bulk of holiday shoppers at the Two Skies mall nearly two weeks later.  
  
"Yep," Mary Anne confirmed. "Mona and I figured it out, so half of you can stay here and another half at her place."   
  
"Sounds good," I edged my way toward the cashier counter at Borders' which of course had a huge line nearly a mile long. Just two more gifts and I'm done with my shopping. "Hey, Mary Anne, your voice sounds a bit strange; did you sing in an opera or something this afternoon?"  
  
"Not exactly," Mary Anne laughed a little. At least her laugh didn't sound strange. "I had a bad cold a week and a half ago and I guess my voice was affected."  
  
"Oh, God, are you all right now?"  
  
"Yeah, I am," Mary Anne told me. "Mona was great; she looked out for me. Hey, are you at Borders'?"  
  
"Yep," I confirmed. "We can always tell the bookstore crowds, can't we?"   
  
"Sure can." We both laughed. "Hey, I gotta run and get ready for Tam's play tonight, so I'll talk later?"  
  
"Talk soon." We clicked our cells shut and bit by bit, the line inched forward. Boy, I didn't envy those clerks ringing up the sales. I noticed some scurrying back and forth and one was out of breath as she raced back with a customer's credit card and told them something about the card. Hard to believe the holidays were almost here. Hanukkah was just two days away.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
KRISTY:  
  
It was sooo good seeing all of my friends again! By Sunday afternoon, all of us from the original BSC were in New York and had arranged ourselves in Mary Anne and Mona's houses. We spent most of Monday catching up and a few of us did some last minute shopping. At first, it was a zoo before we finally got organized. Then on Tuesday, we went to see the ballet, *Nutcracker.* It was neat being back in the Big Apple, where I'd gone for college with Mary Anne and Mona.   
  
"Heyy, look who's in this ballet!" Jessi told us as she pointed to the stage bill once we sat in our seats. Jessi was a dancer herself until she retired into teaching last year. "Harry Potter!" Sure enough, Harry, who's a famous British dancer, was dancing the part of the Cavalier in this ballet. There were rumors that he had supernatural powers, but it was unconfirmed.  
  
"Did you ever meet him?" Stacey asked.  
  
"Once I did very briefly," Jessi told us. "He has really beautiful black hair and a porcelain white china kind of complexion and these huge greenish-hazel eyes that look into you. He's also really quiet and kind of shy. He also wears contacts; without them he said he's as blind as a bat." I'd read that somewhere that offstage, he wears thick glasses. The ballet started and the ballet was still magical after all these years. Sure enough, Harry was so graceful and majestic, it took my breath away.  
  
"That guy with the black hair is Harry?" Liz whispered.  
  
"Yes, dear." All of the dancers were sooo beautiful! Mary Anne covered her mouth several times and her face flushed in pleasure. Being the holidays, a lot of people, especially the kids were dressed in bright red or green. A few babies got antsy and squalled some and some kids squirmed. As the play went into the second part, I also noticed in amusement that a lot of adults coughed. Mary Anne coughed a few times. Thank the stars that she's over that awful cold she had a few weeks ago, I thought. Syrie dropped her empty cup of cocoa and stooped under the seat to get it, then stood briefly and sat again. One baby behind us started squalling loudly, so her mom took her outside to calm her down. All in all, I was glad we all came. I hadn't seen *The Nutcracker* in several years. Once the play was over, the applause was huge and the dancers all came out and bowed several times. The curtain started to lower and then raised again. I laughed a little as I noticed Harry and a couple of others had started off the stage. They scampered back and Harry tripped and almost fell over the Sugar Plum Fairy. I thought I noticed his snowy skin looked a bit flushed as he bowed. Finally the curtain lowered for good.   
  
"That was fantastic!" Abby crowed and whistled through two of her fingers, something she'd been able to do since eighth grade. We waited for the crowd to thin out before edge out ourselves.  
  
"Heyyy, look it's snowing!" Anna's daughter, Raisa, crowed. Sure enough, it was! Wow, if this kept up, New York City would have snow for Christmas this year after all!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
"Leah Silverbein sent us these Hanukkah cards," Stacey passed the cards around to all of us on the last night of Hanukkah a few nights later, which happened to fall on Christmas eve. We'd picked that day to do gift exchanges, so all of us...my friends, Sharon and Grandma Baker were all gathered in my living room. I'd started a fire in the fireplace. Tomorrow, we'd have a special dinner.  
  
"Wowww..." "How nice..." some of us commented as we looked them over. Leah Silverbein was the principal of Stoneybrook High back when we were in high school. Stacey's been in touch with her these past few months.  
  
"Mary Anne, heard anything about the position you applied for?" Mallory asked me.  
  
"No, I haven't," I sipped my tea and moved aside some of the remains of the wrapping paper from our opened gifts. "They'll probably do two more interviews and won't make the final decision until May."  
  
"It'll come," Sharon leaned forward and put an arm around me. "You'll be an asset to Lazarus High and they'll see that in the interview unless the interviewer is unfortunate enough to be out of it upstairs." We all chuckled.   
  
"My classes are slowly growing," Jessi told us. "Four new students this month."  
  
"Hey, great," Mal nodded.  
  
"Picked up several new contracts for next month," Claudia put in. Claudia is a CEO of an advertising firm, Kisyam Advertising and Photo Studios.  
  
"Hard to believe it's almost 2028," Anna commented.  
  
"Stoneybrook becoming a city after all these years," Mona put in. "Hey, is anyone here going to the ceremony they're having in the spring?"  
  
"I will," Grandma put in.  
  
"Me too..." "Yeah..." "I'll be there..."  
  
"I'm coming," I added.  
  
"Can we come too?" Alma asked me.  
  
"Yep, kids invited too," I told her. We were off and talking about what it would be like, the old town being now a city.  
  
"Just think, Newark used to be a small town back in the eighteen-sixties, then it evolved into a large town by the late eighteen-eighties, then by the nineteen-hundreds, it evolved into a small city," Jessi put in.  
  
"I think things there'll be run more smoothly and efficiently," Stacey added.  
  
"Welcome to cityhood, Stoneybrook!" Dawn whooped. We all laughed, then toasted with our teacups. "To the city of Stoneybrook."  
  
  
  
More later! 


	7. February 2028

SIERRA:  
  
"Mom, come quick!" I called that February evening where my twin brother and I were watching the news.   
  
"Coming..." Mom darted over to the den and sure enough, the historic news was Puerto Rico.  
  
"...today, President Ginsberg signed over the treaty and has granted Puerto Rico its independence from the United States," the newscaster announced.   
  
"Wow!" Ben whooped. We watched as other commentators came on.   
  
"What's remarkable is that Puerto Rico won its revolution without a single life being taken or any bloodshed whatsoever," one commentator marveled.  
  
"I wonder if Aunt Mary Anne's watching this!" I said excitedly.  
  
"If not, I'm sure she'll hear about it soon," Mom told us. Incredible. Puerto Rico was now a free country! The news flashed onto the streets of Puerto Rico, where bells rang, citizens celebrated and cheered in the streets, and confetti flew. "Puerto Rican Americans must be so proud," Mom added softly, putting an arm around each of us. It was almost dinner, so we watched a few minutes longer and sure enough, the camera showed groups of Puerto Rican Americans celebrating in the Spanish Harlem area of New York City. Then we reluctantly turned off the TV and went to eat. As we were finishing, the phone rang and sure enough, it was Aunt Mary Anne.  
  
"Yes, isn't it wonderful?" Mom asked. "They must be thrilled up there...I can imagine...I guess it must have been like this for India when it won its independence from England almost a hundred years ago...wow, yes...I can see you have tears of happiness for the people of Puerto Rico...their new president's picked out and everything...yeah, Sandra Ginsberg's sharp and knew when to sign the treaty..." Mom and her stepsister talked a little longer, then Ben and I talked to our cousins and aunt as well. Aunt Mary Anne was indeed so happy she was crying.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
ANNIE:  
  
Mom, my sister and I let out a whoop once we'd gotten the news on Puerto Rico being a free nation. Mom called Kristy right away and we could hear Kristy bellow, "YYYYESSSS!" right through the receiver. Shortly after that, Liza called and they talked a while.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Most of the kids had gotten the news, so it was all the kids talked about in Current Events the next day. Some kids thought the States should have fought harder to retain the island, others like Linda and me agreed that it was good to release Puerto Rico.  
  
"But think, now the people there will lose the economic support," Gina Vinson put in. "And our country will have a harder time trading things like sugar cane. Sugar's now going to be more expensive."  
  
"They prepared for this," Linda countered. "President Ginsberg even made the transfer slowly, so they could be economically self-sufficient. And we get sugar from a lot of other islands like Haiti and the Philippines as well as Vietnam and Central America." We debated on until the class was over.  
  
"One thing people in the Caribbean don't see is snow," Linda told me as we started home that afternoon.  
  
"Yeah," I nodded. It had snowed last week and now a light snowfall was coming down again, being February.  
  
"Did New York get snow when you were over there over the holidays?" Linda asked. She knew I'd spent the winter break at Mary Anne's place in the Big Apple.  
  
"Yeah," I kicked up a chunk of snow. "Some years it gets snow and other years it doesn't. If not for the winter holidays, they usually get it in January or February."  
  
"Probably because the city is close to the sea," Linda added.  
  
"Heeey, wait up!" Snow flew past us and Michelle scurried to catch up with us. Then we started home together. "I hope there's a blizzard tonight," she told us. We all laughed, figuring it would give us a break from school if we got a huge snowstorm.  
  
"Even though I'd never live there, I'd love to visit Puerto Rico some day," I told my friends.  
  
"Me too," Michelle agreed. "It's a really beautiful island."  
  
"Me too, but I'd do it in the spring or summer," Linda added.  
  
"Now we'd have to get passports if we ever visit Puerto Rico," I said. "I wonder if a lot of their people speak English."  
  
"I think so, since it was under American control for so long," Michelle put in. "I wonder if the American influence will stay now the Puerto Rico is an independent country."  
  
"Probably some of it will," Linda told us. "Even in the Philippines, they still have some things in English and some American restaurants there."  
  
"They probably have a few British places in India," I added. We'd seen an old series *Jewel in the Crown* on video and it was partly about the British and India and the Indian fight for its independence from England. In time, England realized its time in India was up and withdrew peacefully. It had been a good, very historically accurate series. I figured maybe ten or twenty years from now, people would be making series and movies on the Puerto Rican fight for independence from the States.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TAMARA:  
  
Mom, my sister, Mona and her daughter Zara went out to eat that Friday evening. It was a really cold February evening, so we had to wear our thick jackets and gloves. We'd gotten a snowstorm in late January and it looked like we might get another one this weekend. We decided to eat at a Puerto Rican place to celebrate Puerto Rico's newfound independence. As we expected, there were a lot of people there to celebrate and we waited a while for a table.  
  
"To Puerto Rico's freedom," Mona said softly once we sat and had our sodas.  
  
"To Puerto Rico's freedom," we all chimed in and clinked glasses, toasting the birth of a new nation and a new neighbor. Sandra Ginsberg had really handled that transition beautifully, I thought as our food came and we dug in. All around us, we heard a lot of Spanish-speakers. That's not unusual, being the New York City has a high Spanish-speaking population. I knew Mona had taken Spanish in high school and I wondered if she remembered any of it. I myself was in my first year of Spanish and was able to catch a few words here and there, but not enough to understand what the conversations were about. I know Caribbean Spanish is different from South American Spanish and from Spaniard Spanish. Just like British English is different from American English, I thought. My class itself has a lot of Puerto Rican Americans, but most of them speak just English since their families go several generations back.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mom..." I called as I headed to the garage where she was working on her car. "The letter about Stoneybrook's dedication ceremony came...I put it on your desk."  
  
"Thank you, dear," Mom called back from under the hood of her car. She opened the oil valve, checked it, put some more oil in and closed the valve. She emerged from under the hood. "I wonder how many of my old classmates are actually going to be there." She sat and I sat beside her and we looked out at the frosty sunlight filtering in from outside. It had snowed on Sunday night and today, Monday, we'd gotten a day off school. "What a lovely wintry day," Mom said softly, putting an arm around me. Her voice still sounds a bit strange from that awful cold she'd had back in December, but either I was getting used to it or maybe her voice was slowly getting back to the way it was before. Her voice has always been kind of soft and rather deep, but it sounds huskier now; I hope that cold didn't do permanent damage to her vocal cords. That happened to one of my teachers back in middle school; she caught a bad cold and cough and when she recovered, her voice sounded different and was never quite the same.  
  
"Yeah," I nodded and put my head on her shoulder. "The sky seems bluer this way and I love how it just bounces off the snow."  
  
"Did it say when...?" Mom started.  
  
"I think the cover said around April?" I told her.  
  
"That's good," Mom nodded. "Maybe it'll be in time for spring break." I was looking forward to this dedication too; I had the feeling it would be a re-union of sorts and I wondered if I'd meet a lot of Mom's old classmates there.  
  
  
More later, including the ceremony to officially mark Stoneybrook as a small city! 


	8. April 2028

KRISTY:  
  
We were back in the old town for spring break again! Only now it's the old city. Mary Anne, Dawn and Mona were on the way from New York City and Claudia, Stacey, Abby, Anna, Mallory, Jessi and I had met at the airport. Dawn had flown in and was staying with Mary Anne. For old times' sake, we walked around Washington Mall, one of the biggest hangout places back in high school. It still was for a lot of the current Stoneybrook High kids as well as kids from at least a dozen other high schools.   
  
"Aster and Dusker's is still there after all these years!" Abby crowed.  
  
"What a neat place!" Raisa, Anna's daughter, added.  
  
"Yep, we hung out a lot here in the old days when Stoneybrook was still a big town," Anna nodded. We wandered inside and ordered a few drinks from the bar area and sat.  
  
"Being back here brings memories," Stacey said softly.  
  
"It sure does," Abby agreed. It had grown a lot since way back then, but we remembered how when we first came here in the fall of our ninth grade year, way back in the fall of 1997, we'd been impressed by the size. Washington Mall itself was nearly twice as big as before. Right across from Aster and Dusker's was a Borders' Books which had gone up back when we were college seniors.  
  
"I'll never forget the day we moved out of this city," Claudia added.  
  
"For several days, all of us were crying even though we couldn't wait to be out on our own," I put in.  
  
"I had the hardest time of all of us leaving," Stacey remembered. "I guess it was I was still insecure." *Vreeeet!* my cell screeched just then. It was Mary Anne.  
  
"Hello, Mary Anne!" I greeted.  
  
"Hello, Kristy!" Mary Anne's voice came on. "I'm here at Mom's place with Dawn and Mona's with her mom. Where are you?"  
  
"We're at Aster and Dusker's," I told her. "The rest of the gang's here. Want to come meet us here? We're reminiscing old times back in high school."  
  
"Oh...boy!" Mary Anne sniffled a little. "Sure, I'll be there. Let me call Mona and we'll be over soon." With that, we clicked our cells closed.  
  
"Tomorrow's the big day," Stacey sipped her drink. "Leah called day before yesterday and said she will definitely be there tomorrow."  
  
"The City Hall, right?" Anna asked.  
  
"Yep."  
  
Mary Anne, Mona, and Dawn were there in about twenty minutes and they joined us.  
  
"Oh, God, this place does bring back memories," Mary Anne peered around. "Remember Mona, you kind of met us here?"  
  
"Yeah," Mona nodded.  
  
"One of the bad times, yet good," Abby remembered. It had been in tenth grade when the In clique was threatening to take over Stoneybrook High and Mona had been at Burkeview High where there was a BIG clique at her old school. Some of the BIG clique had come and harassed the BSC here and Mona had seen them and told them off. We'd been miserable and it had been a relief when Mona came along. She'd joined us a few minutes and we talked a little, then she'd had to get home. It was in the fall of eleventh grade that Mona's family moved to Stoneybrook and she'd become a SHS student. By November, she'd become a good friend of ours and joined the BSC.  
  
"Let's not forget Operation Today's Good Youth," I put in. It was here that we'd gathered kids from several different schools to send letters to editors of various northeastern newspapers to change the falsely negative image the media had of youth in the late 1990's. By then it was the fall of 1999, almost the turn of the century. The letters were all published, much to our surprise and also raised controversy as well.  
  
"And I'll never forget how Ms. Silverbein stood behind us despite the flak she got from some narrow-minded parents and teachers," Dawn put in.   
  
"Right on..." We all clicked glasses. We ate a little, drank and went over old high school memories, including the turn of the century, which happened in our junior year and our senior year and graduation. Mary Anne's eyes filled with tears several times.  
  
"Here's to us..." Mary Anne's voice sounded a little choked as she held up her cup again. "Our friendship...it's endured all these years and long distances..."  
  
"To us and our friendship..." the rest of us chimed in. Wow, it is amazing that we've stayed close all these years despite being scattered all over the country and only seeing each other a couple of times a year. It's remarkable, especially since sometimes some of us can go a couple of months without hearing from each other, but once we do ee or call, we just pick up right where we left off. What a tribute to our bond.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Almost the whole city was here at the town hall-turned city hall, it seemed. All branches of the current BSC were there as well as former BSC members, not to mention us original BSC. So far we didn't see too many people we knew yet.  
  
"HEEEY!" Just then a familiar voice boomed across the huge field. "Remember me?"  
  
"Caitlin!" I bellowed and sure enough, it was one of our former classmates, Caitlin Giotti, who'd been our senior class president.  
  
"Wow, it's sooo good to see you!" she babbled on as we all hugged.  
  
"It's great to see you too," Mary Anne added.  
  
"How've you been?" Claudia asked. We did a lot of catching up. Caitlin was living in Boulder, Colorado where she'd gone to college and was an architect. She married briefly in her mid-twenties, but that didn't work out. Later in her early thirties, she'd had a daughter.  
  
"I think Shirley's around her unless she's gone off with her friends," Caitlin looked around. Most of our kids were with us, so we introduced them or more they introduced themselves. Finally, Shirley and two other girls came up. They looked about Alma and Zara's age and Caitlin introduced them.  
  
"Heeey, look, there's Ms. Silverbein!" Caitlin peered over. Sure enough, there she was. She was talking to a group of people, so we edged slowly up to her. She still looked almost the same, except now she was much heavier and her hair was silver. She had on a rather loose toga-like dress and looked great. Once a break in the conversation came, we greeted her.  
  
"Oh, hello!" She gave us each a hug. "You look great!"  
  
"So do you," Mona told her and we did more catching up, telling her what we were doing, introducing our kids.  
  
"Mom..." a woman called, coming up. Leah introduced us to Karen and her daughter. We'd met briefly once before, but never really got to know each other since Leah's three kids had gone to Stamford High, not SHS. Once we moved on, we spotted a few other familiar faces and talked some. I'd gone to grab a drink when someone tentatively said, "Kristy?" I turned and saw a woman with curly, dirty-blond hair standing near me. She looked familiar.  
  
"Oh, hi, Shannon!" I recognized Shannon Kilbourne and we hugged briefly. Shannon used to be an associate member of the original BSC from eighth grade until tenth grade, then after tenth grade, her family moved to Massachussetts and we'd lost touch. "It's good to see you again," I told her. She was now an accountant and divorced with one son, David Swanway.  
  
"Know who's here also?" Shannon asked.  
  
"A lot of people we used to know," I chuckled. "Actually, who?"  
  
"Logan Bruno."  
  
"No kidding."  
  
"Yep." Shannon nodded, then peered over and sure enough, there was a tall blond guy talking with a group of people. With him was a rather sullen-looking teenage boy with auburn hair and I wondered if that was his son. Logan had also been part of our original BSC until tenth grade. He'd been an associate member like Shannon, but had also been Mary Anne's boyfriend in eighth and ninth grades. In April of ninth grade, Logan and Mary Anne had gone through a really painful breakup and that had ended their relationship. Logan had then drifted apart from the rest of us and in eleventh grade, his family had moved to Bridgeport and I'd heard that he'd gone to Burkeview High.  
  
"Did you talk to him yet?" I asked.  
  
"A little," Shannon and I started to walk back to my friends. "He's divorced with two kids. He's a classified ad manager. I get the feeling his divorce was rather bitter."  
  
"So, that's his son?" I jutted my chin in his direction, but the teenage boy had wandered off and it was just Logan there was three others.  
  
"Yeah," Shannon confirmed. "Name's Sam and he's fifteen. He also has a daughter, Belinda, who's almost nineteen." Just as we reached my friends, Logan looked up and apparently saw us because he peered at us a minute, then waved. I looked over at Mary Anne. Mary Anne nodded, indicating that she wouldn't mind if he came over to talk. So I waved him over. He slowly came over and we tentatively hugged, except Mary Anne and Logan, who rather awkwardly shook hands. I just hoped seeing Logan again wouldn't bring back painful memories for Mary Anne.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
Somehow, our group branched out and Logan and I would up walking around a bit. "It is good to see you again," I started. "You look good. How's life been treating you?" He hesitated a minute, then told me about how he'd gone to Connecticut U. He'd dated a Melanie Edwards since eleventh grade and they'd gone steady for all of their college years. I got the feeling that things didn't go completely smoothly for him there, but I didn't press for any details. He'd married Melanie after college and they'd moved down to Virginia where he'd gotten a job at a sports magazine doing typesetting. Melanie had worked as a veterinarian's assistant, but had taken time off after she'd had Belinda, then Sam. Then once Belinda became a teenager, their marriage started to fall apart and they'd divorced in the summer of 2023.  
  
"So...what are you up to? Are you divorced too? You mentioned your daughters..." Logan asked. I told him about Tamara and Alma and that I'd gone to Staten U. in New York City and still lived there today. And about my teaching career and that I was being considered for principalship and about the book I was writing. And a little about Owen Geiser. "So, what happened?"  
  
"I'm widowed," I told him. "I...w-we were in a plane crash and I survived, but Owen died. It was in February of 2023 and it happened in the Blue Ridge Mountains somewhere in Virginia, the same year you split from your wife. Owen and I were on our way back from a teachers' conference."  
  
"Oh, God, I remember seeing the news about that crash!" Logan gasped. "Oh, God, Mary Anne, I'm so sorry you had to go through that."  
  
"Thanks," I nodded. "It was traumatic, but Mona and my other friends helped pull me through. My girls were wonderful, even though they were hurting and we've become closer ever since."  
  
"I wish I could say the same about my kids," Logan sighed wistfully.  
  
"Why...what's...?" I sensed there was more behind the divorce that he'd told me.  
  
"Melanie and I weren't speaking by the night I saw the news of the plane crash," Logan said softly. "We'd had a big fight and Melanie had shut herself up in the room. I sat in the living room and watched the news. Sam and Belinda were bickering and I was concerned that Belinda was becoming too boy-obsessed. Sam was developing a mean steak. That summer..." he hesitated a minute. "...was when Hurricane Elmo hit and our house was destroyed. So was the last shards of our marriage and the kids blamed us. We lost everything we owned and had to board with relatives for a year. Melanie and I blamed each other and that year we divorced. It was devastating for me."  
  
"Oh, God, Logan, I'm so sorry," Tears welled in my eyes. Logan managed a weak smile as I pulled out tissues and tried to wipe them away. How awful!  
  
"The kids..." Logan shook his head. "Belinda's in her first year of college, but she's on the verge of flunking out, since I suspect all she's done is party all year. Sam's been obnoxious and started smoking last year. I wonder where they'll wind up..."  
  
"Oh, dear," I said under my breath. "Have you tried counseling for them?" I knew when kids were troubled, they often acted out. It made me realize how very glad I was that I'd gotten counseling for Tam and Alma to help them deal with the plane crash and was VERY glad that they didn't deal with their grief by acting out negatively the way Logan's kids seemed to be doing.  
  
"Tried that for Belinda, but Melanie refused to cooperate and Belinda had no respect for the counselor. Ditto with Sam." Logan shrugged helplessly as we started back to where I saw Kristy, Stacey and Tam and Alma standing. Mona and Zara joined them. I really didn't know what else to say to Logan. I just hoped for all their sakes' Melanie would reconsider counseling and both she and Logan could cooperate enough to insist that Belinda and Sam get counseling and learn to deal with their troubles; I feared those kids were headed for serious trouble.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MONA:  
  
"...the city of Stoneybrook!" Mayor Helene Radstein announced and the council representative cut the ribbon and all of us whooped, cheered, clapped and a lot lit of the little kids jumped up and down. Only Logan's daughter, Belinda rolled her eyes and his son, Sam snorted. By then, a lot of our kids had met, including Logan and Shannon's kids meeting ours. I got the feeling Logan's kids really didn't want to be there and seemed to have attitude problems. Once the ribbon-cutting celebration quieted down, Belinda disappeared. Some of the kids wandered off. I saw Sam give Tam a shove as he headed off. At one point, he put out his middle finger at Mary Anne, then continued off. Tam's brows puckered into a frown and she leaned on Mary Anne, who put an arm around her. I was tempted to yell a few choice words after Sam, but didn't want to start an argument right there. I guess Logan didn't see that.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
ZARA:  
  
I could tell that Mary Anne's kids and Logan and Melanie's kids had NOT hit it off. I found Belinda and Sam hard to take myself. They were both rather obnoxious. Belinda was tall, blond and blue-eyed like her dad and all she had on her mind was boys and sex. Sam was fifteen and had auburn hair, also had blue eyes and he ridiculed others and had a cynical attitude about everything. I'd seen him sneer at Mary Anne and give her the finger behind her back. I wondered how Logan put up with those kids, but I guess since he's their dad, he doesn't have much choice. Mom, Stacey, Kristy, and Mary Anne walked down the field again while several of us kids stood by the food, which was great.  
  
"Hey, is it true that your mom dated Belinda and Sam's dad in middle school?" I asked Tamara.  
  
"I think Mom mentioned something about dating a Logan in eighth and ninth grade," Tam finished off some chips. "Hard to believe that those are Logan's kids."  
  
"Logan seems nice," I mused. "I wonder why he and your mom broke up."  
  
"Too different, I guess," Tam shrugged. "My mom's very quiet and shy and Logan seems outgoing." I smiled, thinking of Logan's strange southern twang. Come to think of it, it was nearly impossible to imagine that Tam's mom had once gone out with this Logan. Like New York City and the rural South, I thought.  
  
"I have to go to the bathroom," Alma told us.  
  
"Sure, let's let Mom know so she won't worry." Tam took her hand. We told our parents where we were going, then headed inside city hall to the bathroom. On the way back out, we passed a broom closet and heard giggling and a sort of *wooogh.* I was curious, so I started to open the door, maybe figuring someone was making out in there. I was just going to take a fast look and close the door again before they saw us, but it didn't quite work out that way. The couple was Belinda and a much older guy. They weren't really making out, but they were smoking hippies, which is an offspring to crack, a drug that was popular in the late twentieth century. At school, teachers always tell us that hippies were very dangerous and addictive and can destroy your teeth, liver and digestive tract.  
  
"Wwwwellll, hull-o there," Belinda slurred, then started to laugh. The guy, who also seemed high, laughed along with her.  
  
"D-do your 'rent know that you smoke that junk?" Tamara asked.  
  
"Hi...bye," I started to shut the door, wanting to get away from them.  
  
"Maybe..." Belinda told us. "Just one thing..." she leaned forward, and held the door. "Don't dare tell your mommies...not that Mary Anne or your Mona...or we'll kill you...got it? We'll just kill you." We nodded. Alma was shaking and we quickly shut the door and practically ran back. We could hear them laughing deliriously inside the closet.  
  
"Don't worry, Alma," I told Alma when I saw her frightened brows slant. "She won't do anything to us. Her mind was a little...crazed from the drugs."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TAMARA:  
  
Mom, Aunt Mona, Zara, and my sister had all come together, so we came back home together. Aunt Dawn and her twins had flown back to Arizona from Stoneybrook this morning. We did a little more sightseeing through the new city of Stoneybrook first, then entered the Connecticut turnpike.  
  
"Did Stoneybrook used to be a small town back when you were young, Mom?" Alma asked.  
  
"Not really," Mom told her. "It was a large town, but it's been growing for so many years. Your great-grandmother lives in a small town. Just one main roads and a few tiny roads and a few shopping centers. Everybody knows everybody there. Grandma used to joke that if you blinked passing by, you'd miss that town." We all laughed then.  
  
"And think, we now have computers, internet, and electricity too," I quipped and we cracked up again.  
  
"Mary Anne..." Mona asked. "Was it strange seeing Logan again?" You hadn't seen him since high school and I know you didn't part of the best of terms back then."  
  
"A little," Mom said softly. "It was all so long ago...we broke up in ninth grade; it was April. We just had different values and couldn't meet each others' needs." We girls listened. I love hearing stories about Mom when she was my age. Things were so different and yet the same. There were a lot more narrow-minded people back then with a lot of rigid, fixed ideas about how other people should live their personal lives. People back then were more superstitious and there was no control for AIDS and diabetics had to inject themselves to get their insulin. Now there is a control for AIDS that allows AIDS patients to live a normal lifespan and all diabetics need is an insulin patch ten minutes a day. "It wasn't a bitter breakup," Mom continued. "But it was very painful for both of us and we both cried so much."  
  
"Logan cried too?" I asked in surprise.  
  
"Yeah...he did. It was really sad for both of us. We'd been growing apart most of our ninth grade year and it wouldn't have been fair to either one of us to hang onto each other.  
  
"Mom..." Alma looked a little pale and her brows slanted again in worry.  
  
"Yes, honey."  
  
"Belinda said she was going to kill us."  
  
"Wh-what?" Mom gasped. "Logan and Melanie's daughter? When?"  
  
"At the re-union bash."  
  
"We caught Belinda smoking hippies," I put in. "I guess she didn't want anyone else to know and she was high, so I guess she talked off the top of her drugged-out head...you know." I tried to calm Mom, whose eyebrows had also slanted in worry.  
  
Mom swallowed hard. "What are hippies?" she asked in a low, shaky voice.  
  
"The latest drug," I told her. Don't tell me Mom's never heard of it.  
  
"Kind of like crack in our day," Mom supplied.  
  
"Do her parents know?" Mom asked.  
  
"She said they did, but I don't believe it."  
  
"Oh, shit..." Mom swore a couple of times under her breath, then added, still looking worried. "I just hope she doesn't get herself in real trouble. Not only for her own sake, but that of her parents."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
BELINDA:  
  
Dad's furious and embarrassed at both my brother and me. So the plane ride back to Virginia where we lived was strained to say the least. I mean some dumb teacher caught Brad and me doing a little hippie smoking the broom closet of city hall. Just my luck that teacher's one of those straight, proper types...like Dad. It seemed as if Dad also caught Sam drinking beer with some friends. We'd come with Dad to this dedication, but it had been sooo boring! Only one cute guy. So Dad had lived in Stoneybrook for a few years way back when he was in eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. Big fat deal. Mom and Dad got joint custody of us after they split up when I was thirteen. I'd hated them both and wished they'd both go to hell...and told them off! When I yelled at Dad, he snapped back, "Great...then go live with your mother!" I yelled at Mom and she sniped back, "Just go live with your father the jockster and tell him that!"   
  
"I'd rather not live with either of you putzes!" I'd told both of them.  
  
Sam had then butted in with his unwanted opinion," "All three of you are putzes and I'm embarrassed to be related to any of you idiots!"  
  
"Sam, be quiet!" Mom had snapped. Now I could see their reasons for splitting up. Mom was always complaining about how much she sacrificed trying to please Dad and Dad complained that Mom was too self-centered. Today, they still occasionally complain about each other. Now I wondered if Dad would tell Mom about this episode. They were very bitter toward each other at first, but now they're civil, but cool towards each other. I got the feeling that Tamara, and her sister and her friend, Zyra or whatever her name was probably went squealing to their moms anyway.  
  
"Hey, Belinda..." Sam poked me.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Is it true that Dad and that Mary Anne were lovers in eighth grade?"  
  
"Sort of," I told him.  
  
"I mean..." He leaned closer, so Dad wouldn't hear him. "Did they do IT?"  
  
"No, I don't think they had sex, if that's what you're asking," I told him in a low voice. "All's I know is that they broke up in ninth grade and that she's now widowed. It was probably just an infatuation thing. I mean...did you get a look at Mary Anne? She's not even pretty and she's a bit on the fat side." We both snickered. "I kind of pity her nerdy little daughters, especially Alma, who got stuck looking like her mother."  
  
"All three of those Spisers are just squacks," Sam sniggered. Maybe we shouldn't be making fun of my dad's first girlfriend and her kids...but they're losers anyway. I could see that they hadn't been too crazy about us either. Thank the stars they live somewhere in New York City, so we'd never have to see them again and they'd never see us again.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ee's back and forth:  
  
Numbers@compuserve to all:  
It's me, Stace. Got home all right, Syrie and me. What a wonderful ceremony that was! And it was soo good seeing some of our old classmates and especially seeing Ms. Silverbein again, not to mention you all again! I'm so fortunate to have all of you as my friends!  
  
Boox@yahoo to all:  
Yes, it was. I saw Leah and I briefly flashed back to when we were teens and she was in her fifties and her hair was still mostly black. Her eyes are still the same, that same dark brown. And her wonderful wit and personality hasn't changed any either. It's good to see her still active in her eighties. Tam, Alma, and I are home all right as you can tell and I'm about to get in bed with a good book, so good night, all of you. I'm lucky to have all of you as my friends.  
  
Bizprez@aol to all:  
Wonder if any of our descendants will wind up back in the old city again. Seems all so long ago that I founded the BSC. I'm so glad Stoneybrook is now a city! Good seeing all of you and hope to do it again really soon! Take care for now!  
  
Planet@yahoo to all:  
Environmentally sound, converting Stoneybrook into a city. Now there's more room to spread out and it has more control over any pollution. I loved seeing all of you again!  
  
Artsbiz@aol to all:  
Got home all right! God, it was soo good seeing you all! It's amazing and wonderful how no matter what direction our lives take us and how far we scatter, we're always drawn back to each other like an astral cord. Well, it's several new ads to start on next week. Way to go, city of Stoneybrook!!!!  
  
Animalover@ to all:  
Hi, it's Mona to say Mary Anne and I are back home in the Big Apple. Maybe Stoneybrook might become NYC's little apple, lol. Well, congratulations to Stoneybrook and its people! Thanks you all, for being my great friends!  
  
Mscnote@aol to all:  
Abby and I are back home. My group is working on another CD which should be out next year. Wonderful seeing you all again!  
  
Sports@aol to all:  
Back home again to my own small city here in New Jersey! Great ceremony and it was so good seeing all of you again! Oh, it was great stopping at Aster and Dusker's again for old times' sake! Anna and I just got off the phone with each other and I'm about to turn in, so g'night!  
  
  
  
  
More soon! You'll find out if Mary Anne is promoted to principal and how Stacey's discovery will change the world! 


	9. May 2028

Hi, hope you've all enjoyed reading this story. This story is starting to wind down; after this chapter will be one more than this story is COMPLETED! The usual disclaimers and in addition, to borrow a quote that belongs to Ann Martin's, not this author...happy reading!  
  
  
STACEY:  
  
"Mom!" Syrie called out the door just as I pulled into the driveway after work on a balmy evening in early May. "Phone's for you!"  
  
"Thanks, love," I gave her a kiss and headed inside and grabbed the phone.  
  
"Stacey...?" It was Maya Oregla on the other end.  
  
"This is Stacey," I responded, still catching my breath.  
  
"Congratulations. Your experiment worked and could change how we use electricity forever," she told me.  
  
"Oh, my God..." I gasped. The experiment I'd worked on all last summer. It...worked. It actually...  
  
"You still...?"  
  
"Yes, I'm here, I just..." I walked over to the kitchen chair and sat. "Thank you." I managed to say once I caught my breath.  
  
"Thank *you.*" Maya congratulated.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
KRISTY:  
  
"Heeey, Mom, here it is!" Liz called. I booked into the living room and sure enough, there was the story on Stacey's discovery about electricity. Claud and her kids were here too and all of us whooped.  
  
"WAY TO GO, STACE!!!" We bellowed and did a high-five. Once we'd settled down, Mary Anne called, then Abby.  
  
"Just think, the way of antennas and phone wires are becoming a thing of the past," Mary Anne told us.  
  
"Right on!" Abby whooped.  
  
"I think we should send her a congratulatory card," Anna, who I gathered was at Abby's, put in.  
  
"Definitely," I agreed. "And all of us sign." I made a mental note to call Dawn, Mona, Mallory, and Jessi.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
God, I'm so happy for Stace! I must have spent the next few weeks wiping tears from my eyes. Several of my students noticed and grinned. They know that I'm close friends with Stacey and they'd seen the news reports about her invention. Carly Bradbur, the science teacher, was having a good time with her classes talking about this.  
  
"They're just soo excited about this," she told me as we had a snack in the lounge between classes. "Never have I had so many student be this enthused about science. If only it'll last after the novelty wears off." We both laughed some. "Hey, I'm sure you're getting a million, but add my congrats to your friend up in Vermont."  
  
"I will," I nodded.  
  
"Heard anything about the position you applied for?" Carly asked, stirring her coffee.  
  
"Nope. I suppose if I get the position, they'll notify me this week."  
  
"Good luck, dear," Carly reached out and held my hand. "If anyone deserves to be promoted to principal, it's you." I thought about that as I walked back to my next class. If I was twelve still, I wouldn't have considered myself a leader. I smiled ruefully as I remembered the braids I used to wear and the jumpers and little girl cords I also wore with them. A few minutes later, my students for seventh period trickled in, babbling about the end of school being a month away and about upcoming final exams. Bit by bit, they sat. About two-thirds way through the class, my cell rang and I answered it. It was a call from the office telling me to come down.  
  
"Class..." I told them. "I have to see about something in the office, so I'll be gone a few moments. Go ahead and start on tonight's homework."  
  
"Sure..." "Yeah..." "We will..."  
  
I headed on down, figuring maybe about half of the students would get started while the other half would pull out their own books, finish conversations with friends, or the multitude of other things tenth-graders do when they're sitting in a classroom a month before the end of another school year.  
  
"Congratulations, Mary Anne," Alexa Zerra, the principal told me as she shook my hand once I got to the office. "You have the position as principal of Lazarus High."  
  
"Oh...God!" I gasped. "Thank...you!" I looked around at the secretary from Lazarus and at the office people and they all clapped and whooped.  
  
"And from one principal to another, good luck!" Alexa added with a grin.  
  
"Thanks..." Tears came and Alexa grabbed some tissues. I cried into the tissues, tears of gratitude and happiness filling my soul and the room. I was glad Lazarus was near this school, too. It slowly sunk in as I wiped my eyes. Me, Mary Anne Spiser, high school principal. I couldn't wait to get home and e-mail my friends and Leah Silverbein as well.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
TAMARA:  
  
I was debating on whether to put something in the oven as I was finishing my homework when Mom came home. "Hiii!" Alma and I called.  
  
"Hello, dears!" Mom called back, coming upstairs. "Feel like eating out tonight?" she asked my sister and me.  
  
"Yeaaah..." Alma and I both chimed in as we came out to the landing where she was and she put her arms around both of us and kissed each of us on the top of our heads. I sensed she was really happy about something. I wondered if she'd finished the book she was writing already and maybe sent it off early. It wasn't due until August, but there are always exceptions.  
  
"You seem happy, Mom," Alma said as we headed downstairs.  
  
"I am and I'll tell you why when we get there," Mom took off her earrings and tucked them into the side pocket of her purse, tossed a stack of student papers onto the coffee table, then we left. In the car, we decided on the Cheesecake Factory. Sound like a funny name? Actually, the place is more that just cheesecakes, which I love also. They have all sorts of other food there. Sometimes the wait is rather long, so they often give you a pager. But it was Thursday evening and it wouldn't be as crowded as it is on Friday and Saturday night. It was about half hour before we were seated and meanwhile, we strolled around Barnes and Noble bookstore. I leafed through a biography on the dancer Harry Potter, remembering how we'd seen him last December in the ballet. It was interesting and I considered buying it, but I was saving my baby-sitting money for a computer of my own soon along with several programs and modems to go with it. We have several shared ones in the house and Mom has two of her own in her room. Once our pager went off and we were seated, Mom told us the good news...she'd gotten her promotion to principalship.  
  
"Ohhh, SWELL!" I squealed.  
  
"Terrific!" Alma added, jumping up and giving Mom a hug. Once she was done, I reached over and gave her a hug, almost toppling my water.  
  
"So, what high school is it again?" I asked once we'd settled down again and people stopped glancing at us.  
  
"Lazarus High," Mom told us.  
  
"That's right near Harvington Mall in Queens," I remembered. We live in the Manhattan borough. Just then the waiter came by and took our orders. We're big tea drinkers, so with dessert, Mom asked for another tea bag.  
  
"What happened to your other one?" the waiter looked puzzled.  
  
"We ate it," I blurted out. Mom put a hand over her mouth and stifled a laugh and Alma tittered. The waiter looked bewildered a second, then went and brought over the other tea bag. Once he left, we cracked up for real.  
  
"Strange question..." Mom barely managed between laughter.  
  
"Yeah..." Alma put in, taking a breath. By the time Mom paid the check, her face was flushed and we took our time leaving. By then the sun was setting. It was really pretty, lighting up the sky in oranges and bright magentas over the New York City skyline. It seemed also the smell of newly blooming flowers and trees were stronger now that it was night.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
KRISTY:  
  
"WAY TO GO, MARY ANNE!" I bellowed into the phone later on that night. All of us in the BSC, including Mal and Jessi, were by either our cells or conventional phones that Friday night by conference call, so the rest of my friends also chimed in their congrats. Wow! That makes two of us BSC who've accomplished something this year! Stacey, who was still excited over her discovery, was doubly excited for Mary Anne.  
  
"I e-mailed Leah Silverbein and told her the news," Mary Anne told us. "She wished me good luck, principal to principal. It's so hard to believe."  
  
"You'll be a natural at it," Anna put in.  
  
"Isn't it great I wheedled her to apply?" Dawn joked.  
  
"You've weathered your way to the top," Mona added. All of us talked for a while, eventually moving on to other things when we sensed Mary Anne blushing a deep red which I know she does when she gets a lot of attention. Even now, electricity's becoming easier to use. I'm already getting offers in my store's website and snail mail about products selling without plugs and on something called neotricty. I told my friends about it and we pondered back on how it must have been for people in the late 1800's when the phone was first invented.  
  
"It was have blown them away when they picked up that little receiver from a box in the wall and could hear someone across the country," Abby put in.  
  
"And back then, phones weren't always reliable," Claud added.  
  
"Like the net back in the early part of this century," Mallory chimed in. We all chucked, remembering how the internet back then often went down and sometimes website would inexplicably "crash." It still breaks down occasionally, but not as often and only in exceptional circumstances. It was almost as good as one of our physical get-togethers, all of us here on a conference call.  
  
"You know what's good about modern technology?" Mary Anne asked. "We're able to stay in close touch, even though we're scattered all over the States."  
  
"Yeah..." "Got that right..." We put in. It is. So many changes, yet part of us stays constant in our lives and I was glad one of those unchanging constant is our friendship, our unbreakable bond with each other. 


	10. Epilogue-November 2028

EPILOGUE:  
  
  
MARY ANNE:  
  
Once school ended for the day six months later, I logged into my e-mail in my office and checked it. There were ee's from Sharon and Dawn. Sharon asked how Lazarus High was treating me. *It's going along fine!* I ee'd back. *I was a bit nervous that first day and it was a bit weird seeing my name on the door of the principal's office, but I'm getting used to it...* I added some more things, such as that I should get a response any day now about the book I'd submitted back in September and that it had gotten colder here this week, being mid-November. And that the girls and I had gone for a walk through an autumn trail in upstate New York two weeks ago when the trees were in their peak. And asked Sharon if she was still coming over here for Thanksgiving, that I'd already ordered the pre-cooked turkey. Hard to believe these past six months have flown by and it was nearing the end of another year. And in another year, it would be 2030, the start of a new decade, I thought as I logged out and closed down the computer. I'd still kept in touch with Leah Silverbein and she'd told me she'd felt a little strange too seeing her name on the office door. Kristy ee'd and told me about the new line of products her business was now selling now that electricity has been changed while Claud's doing the advertising for the appliances again as well as picking up other business deals with neotricty products. Stacey won an award in August for her invention, the Mayer-Goppert Prize. Mallory has started on another series. Jessi's teaching even bigger classes this year and is branching out into modern dance. Dawn's coming up here for the holidays once again. Once I got home, Tam called out that I had mail from the publisher.  
  
"I think it's about the book," she called.  
  
"Thanks, honey..." I took off my jacket and headed into my room, where sure enough, there was a manila envelope. The letter told me that the publisher could buy it and I'd be published! I gasped and dropped the letter on my desk and grabbed tissues. I'd written articles over the years, but now I'd have a book out! Wow!  
  
"You made it, right?" Tam asked with a grin from the door. I nodded and gave her a hug, then Alma, who'd come in behind her. They can always tell when my tears are happy ones. It was Friday evening, so we decided to head into downtown Manhattan to eat. I'd ee my friends later to tell them. As my family and I headed home after our dinner, I thought over how so many of my dreams came true. Living here in New York had been my biggest one as a child. Then becoming independent as a teenager, then entering the education field. Then as an adult, having a wonderful family...my late dear husband Owen and my two wonderful daughters, who are so dear to me. My thoughts wandered over to my friends and I knew they were fortunate too. We were fortunate to be living in this era, us BSC and our kids. My friends and I had all dreamed back when we were young, then grew up realizing that it would take a lot of hard work on our parts to make those dreams reality. We'd had our heartaches over the years, survived them and triumphed over them. *It looks like it all paid off,* I thought contentedly with a soft smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
~~Storyline Copyright 2002 by CNJ~~ 


End file.
